15 Tips for Simple, Peaceful Large Family Homeschool Days

Large family homeschool days can be challenging! In this post, you’ll find 15 tips for simple, peaceful large family homeschool days that you can start today! We believe making things simple makes them sustainable.

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Large family homeschool days can be challenging! But, there are ways to promote peace and simplicity in your homeschool days, even with a large family. However, let us not forget that the true source of peace is God. We do not want to deter or distract from that. A real relationship with and reliance on God is where true joy, peace, and contentment are found. And, it doesn’t mean there will never be imperfect or stressful moments. But, there are things we can do to practice, promote, and/or facilitate peace as the gatekeepers of our homes. Here are 15 tips for simple, peaceful large family homeschool days that you can start today! We believe making things simple makes them sustainable.

Hi, I’m Priscilla!

As a young, growing family facing job loss in 2013, with a toddler and a newborn baby, I wanted to learn how to grow food to supplement our rising grocery bill, but I had no experience. So, I called on my mom to help me start my first garden as cheap as possible. I remember her stewarding a small garden from time to time when I was growing up. We started one with blocks, soil, seeds, and a few starters that she helped me invest in. And that’s how I started!

Before I was a homesteading, homeschooling mom I was a professional musician and music teacher. I carried over my teaching experience into homeschooling my children, but I learned it was much different teaching your own children. And, when I started homesteading, I started with NO experience. It was something I never imagined doing. I had to do a lot of researching and learning each season. So, I know how hard it is to start homeschooling and homesteading with no experience! 

After 2020

After the events of 2020, we saw the vital need to learn to grow, raise, and store real God-given food in abundance, and continue homeschooling all of our children. We felt God had a new call and season for us. So in 2021, we left everything behind, and moved from northwest Indiana to southern Georgia. And we just got started!

How we can help you

Now, I’ve homeschooled for 11 years and have 6 children of homeschool age with 1 more in waiting. And, we established our homestead in 2021 with lots of research and no experience. We built up gardens and livestock and had a small farmstead business within 2 years. We stewarded a small farmstead by selling fresh eggs and healthy chickens to many happy customers! 

Also, we started taking and completing several homesteading courses, and we continue our education every year. And, I’m always looking for ways to make things more time efficient by making them simpler to do and sustainable. When things are simpler, they are more sustainable in our already full lives.

But, an unexpected turn of events landed us in a rental home in an HOA neighborhood while we search for land. We proved to ourselves that we could still homestead even with all the restrictions. We knew if we could do it, others could do it too! So, we started this blog and our newsletter to equip modern families to live abundantly in their homesteads and homeschools no matter where they live and with no overwhelm or burn out. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! We offer and affordable solutions, free printables, resources, and encouragement for your Christ-centered beginner homesteading, homeschooling journey.

15 Tips for Simple, Peaceful Large Family Homeschool Days 

1. Wake up early for morning Prayer and Bible Time

If our true source of peace is Jesus, then we need our time with Him each morning whether it’s a homeschool day or not. Right now, the sun gets up later, but we shouldn’t. It is darker earlier in the evening which tends to cause us to get tired earlier, so we want the majority of our day’s work to be done so we can settle down and relax when the sun sets. The dark, and fall back time change, may help us get to bed earlier so that we can wake up earlier. But, if you struggle to wake up when it’s dark, like I do, then it can be a challenge.

However, it is really good to keep waking up early to fit in Bible and prayer time and other morning routine tasks before waking up the children. And, in the same way, it is also good to keep children on their same schedule of wake up time. It is possible that going to bed earlier will be easier in this season making it easier to wake up at the same time each morning. If not, you may need to use alarm clocks and the next few tips to help everyone wake up and source energy for the day so it can be a more peaceful homeschool day.

2. Have everyone drink 1-2 cups of water upon waking.

There are multiple reasons this is good. Our bodies lose fluids all night while we sleep to work on important body functions. So, our bodies needs to rehydrate in the morning. And, this rehydration supports better brain function, concentration, focus, and memory. Drinking water also increases energy. There are other benefits like nail and hair improvement, as well as weight management, but that’s not what we’re focusing on here. 

I like to focus on how water can actually rehydrate and re-energize us! It is also best to drink water before coffee for better digestion and metabolism. I have also read that drinking 2 cups of water upon waking is sufficient! So, I half this amount for the kids and aim for at least 1 cup of water for them. If drinking water helps with brain function, focus, and memory, then not only do I rehydrate every morning, but I encourage all of my children to rehydrate every morning. Better brain function and focus equals a more productive, peaceful homeschool day.

3. Go outside (or open windows) and move your bodies in the fresh air and sunshine.

This is recommended year round in any climate, for adults and children, but is easier in warmer months. However, in colder months the sun rises later and can make us sleepier and struggle to wake up, so it’s a great idea to go outside at the first sign of sun. It is good to get our bodies moving as well. Moving in the fresh air and sunshine will help us all wake up. The brain will wake up, blood will circulate, oxygen will flow, and muscles will warm up. Also, vitamin D from the sun will elevate moods and bring energy. 

All of these things promote focus, concentration, good posture, and elevated mood which can all lead to more peace. Even if it’s a cloudy winter day, the sun’s rays can still get through clouds to us and the fresh air is still there. So, it can still help us jumpstart our day with joy. If you are in a cold month or climate, you may want to bundle up and go for a short walk even if it’s just around the backyard. Or, have a stretching session if it’s really cold so that muscles can warm up slowly.

4. Make one easy breakfast for everyone, make it ahead, or simplify breakfast options.

I have made breakfast more peaceful and easy in my home by totally simplifying the options. You usually won’t find any cereal, frozen breakfasts, sugary pop ups, or the like, in my household. Most mornings our options are eggs or protein-filled oatmeal. Typically, with a side of fruit. Some days, we have sausage or I get motivated and whip up sourdough discard pancakes. But, on a normal day, the kids all know what to expect and what to choose from, and the options are protein-filled for a good, quick start. 

You can also just make a warm pot of oatmeal for everyone and let them choose their toppings. This can be turned into a make ahead meal simply by making it ahead and refrigerating it, or by making something like a baked oatmeal or overnight oats. My 12 year old daughter is a baker, so sometimes she likes to make things (like muffins) the day before for us to have for or with breakfast. Other ideas for a breakfast for everyone is eggs all the same way, a large egg skillet with meats and veggies, breakfast potatoes, sourdough crepes, or simply sausage with a side of fruit. Do it your way, but make it simple!

5. Add worship and/or music to Bible time.

Good music naturally elevates mood. It can also release happy hormones helping everyone to feel peaceful and calm. As a professional musician and previous music teacher, I watched hundreds of children come alive through music. They were encouraged, uplifted, joyful, and would thrive. The brain lights up more when it hears music than any other time or activity (read about it here). This article here even calls music “nature’s wake-up call”. So, on the topic of waking up and re-energizing for a good homeschool day, music should definitely be on the list.

If you don’t already regularly participate in worship or song with your morning Bible time, there’s no better time to add it in. Music, worship, and songs to God not only can be fun and uplifting, but they glorify God and help get our minds focused on God instead of self. When we are focused on God and His ways we tend to be more optimistic and show godly character. So, this can help create a great start for a homeschool day. But, it doesn’t have to stop there. You can even have music class in several different ways at whatever point in your homeschool day to keep spirits uplifted and peace flowing.

6. Add no-planning creative activities.

We can make homeschool days more lively and fun by adding a creative activity to each day without stress or overwhelm, and I’ll show you how. It can look like an art class, a simple craft, a drawing prompt, a writing exercise, poetry prompts, story prompts, an artisan skill, or baking. Or, even grabbing a book on music composers at the library and having active listening time to listen to a piece by the composer of the day. Yes, we did that last one which is why it was so detailed.

You can even grab a book on artists, ballerinas, poetry, etc. Activities like this wakes us up helps us get some creative energy flowing and helps us feel uplifted. Feeling uplifted, again, helps those “happy hormones” flow and helps keep more peace in the home. A creative activity can be incorporated at any point in the homeschool day, but if the day is extra slow or tired, a creative activity before harder subjects like Math can really help! Check out our list of simple, no-planning ideas below:

No- planning activity ideas:

• a free art class tutorial on YouTube (Art Kids Hub)
• a simple craft from an art book you may have on hand
• a drawing prompt (we have 50+ free drawing prompts for you here! and 200+ here!)
• a painting prompt (can use drawing prompts for this!)
• a writing exercise, poetry prompt, or story prompt (come up with some or search it and you’ll quickly find free ideas everywhere!)
• bake something 
• active music listening (use a book or pick a composer or artist and search for a song! Composers to get you started: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Scott Joplin, John Williams)
• make a bracelet with beads or string
• make a thank you card for someone
• a free origami class on YouTube

Read more in-depth about these activities in my post 10 Simple Creative Activities for Homeschool: No Planning Necessary. Hopefully those ideas help you to get started and inspire you to think of more of your own ideas. These creative activities will help bring or keep up energy, focus, and peace during homeschool days and they are simple to facilitate!

7. Teach as many family subjects as you can.

Each child may be in their own “grade” for math and language, but it’s easy to teach subjects like science, history, music, art, etc for all ages all at once. You can simplify your day and your planning by teaching these as family subjects. It also gives children a chance to learn and do activities together. 

For family subjects, you can do unit studies as a family, use curriculums or books as a family, use living books as a family, piano classes, choir time, or whatever works for your style of homeschooling. We choose which studies, activities, and experiments to do in our home together, and one of our History curriculums has everything we need for activities and teaching as a family. Our Language Arts curriculum includes subjects like poetry, art, geography, and more. (More about our curriculum later.)

8. Don’t over-plan!

Don’t plan too much in a day for you or your children. They have different attention spans, energy levels, comprehension, etc, and over-planning can trigger all sorts of feelings and issues. This can totally disrupt the peace of your home and homeschool. It is not really necessary to spend hours making lesson plans. It really doesn’t serve you or your family to plan every detail of every lesson. Plan a weekly flow instead of an hourly one. In fact, we use a curriculum that requires NO lesson planning at all!

9. Use a curriculum that requires little to no planning at all!

Use a curriculum that goes in order of lessons with no need to plan at all, or a curriculum that includes lesson plans done for you. At least for your main subjects. We use a mix of Abeka (without lesson planning; reading only) and FREE curriculum from Good and Beautiful for our main subjects. Good and Beautiful goes in order of lessons including plans for you to follow right in each child’s book for each lesson. It saved me. It is honestly the easiest way I have ever tried to homeschool.

Let me be clear. I am NOT an affiliate for them or sponsored by them in ANY way, and I am telling you as a mama homeschooling 6 (with a 7th soon enough), that I wouldn’t trade Good and Beautiful curriculum for the world. Not only that, but they give their Math and Language curriculum as a FREE download for levels K-8. You can do as much as you can digitally, or you can print it all out! (Abeka just goes in order, but offers lesson plans if needed.) Good and Beautiful has made homeschooling a large family more than possible for me; it’s made it peaceful! Need a simple homeschool planner for what you do want to plan? Check out our FREE printable homeschool planner, or get the FULL planner for a limited-time sale price!

10. Use rotational scheduling.

I simplify homeschool planning by using (what I call) rotational scheduling. In the sample weekly flow below where you see the shorter electives, like Habit Training, Music, Life Skills, etc, I designate some of those spots to be rotated electives. In other words, I don’t specifically write music theory, choir, composer study, or other music electives in my weekly flow. I create a spot that just says Music. But, you can do this with any elective. I’m just using Music as an example. Yours could be History or Language Arts.

(Note: I don’t actually any longer need to include extras like Poetry or Geography into our electives because the Good and Beautiful Curriculum includes these electives within Language Arts. Another reason I love them!)

So, where you see Music in the chart below, I can swap music electives each week. The electives can be like composer study, hymn study, etc. So, instead of trying to fit in all of these electives every week, you could just have Music two days a week and then rotate which music elective you are teaching. So much simpler! You can put this on a 2 week, 3 week, or even 4 week/monthly rotation. For example, the music electives we cover are:

• Music Theory
• Hymn Study
• Composer Study
• Instrument Recognition/Active Listening
• Piano
• Choir
• Music lessons in individual’s instruments (guitar, bass, drums, violins)

Example of rotational scheduling.

Below is an example where you can see the third block of each day just says Music. You can create a separate list of electives and go down the line, or plan it however you want. I find that less planning works for me because as a professional Musician, who also taught several Music classes and lessons, I can pick up whichever elective and teach without a detailed plan. You may be rotating an elective that may need a little more planning, so do what works for you.

Another way to schedule even simpler is to create just one or two elective blocks every day and just rotate all your electives every day! This will depend on how many electives you want to cover in your year. Or, you can cover some electives one semester and swap out the electives the second semester. There are endless ways to schedule homeschool plans and find a way that works for you and your family.

11. Make ahead lunches, have leftovers, or simplify options.

This is just as convenient as number 3 with breakfast. Making lunches ahead, having leftovers, or simplifying the options help keep peace in your large family homeschool day because you and the kids won’t be frantically trying to choose lunch and prepare it. This prevents it from feeling like you are just squeezing in lunchtime instead of just enjoying lunchtime.

Leftovers are great, but with a large family we don’t always have enough for everyone next day. So, some can finish off leftovers and some can pick a meat and sides. I typically simplify options by keeping ham or turkey slices around. Some days, I have the time to squeeze in cooking a meal for everyone like spaghetti, something with sausage, or sourdough discard pizza. Other days, I make ahead homemade sandwich bread so we can make sandwiches. Again, do what works for you and your family, but keeping it simple helps keep the atmosphere peaceful instead of chaotic.

12. Make one-pot, sheet pan, or Instant pot meals for dinner.

Maybe you knew this one was coming. If you did, then you are already getting to know me. Homeschool days always benefit from simple meal plans for all mealtimes. Okay, the truth is that us homeschool moms are the ones who benefit the most from simple meal plans. But, seeing as we help create the atmosphere in our homes as gatekeepers of our homes, this benefits everyone. Also, less time spent on making meals means more time for nurturing your kids. One-pot meals, sheet pan meals, slow cooker meals, and instant pot meals are simple options. Not only are these types of meals simple, but they usually use nourishing ingredients and take less hands on work to create.

One thing that will greatly help in simple meal planning for a simple, peaceful homeschool routine is to have a well-stocked pantry and freezer. You can prep freezer meals that can go straight into the crock pot, instant pot, or even a regular stovetop pot when ready to cook. But, a well-stocked pantry will help get wholesome ingredients into one pot or sheet pan, and let it cook. 

It is especially helpful if you render your own broth, and have dehydrated ingredients on hand. For instance, we like to throw dehydrated celery in a soup for added nutrition. What’s more simple and nourishing than having bone broth and dehydrated veggies on hand? Check out our favorite dehydrators here. Here are some quick and simple dinner ideas to get your brainstorm going:

Quick, simple, warm one-pot or sheet pan meals:

• Soups (best with bone broth): tomato soup, chicken noodle or dumpling soup, taco soup, enchilada soup using this homemade sauce, etc)
• Chilis (best with bone broth): regular chili, white chicken chili, cowboy chili
• Sourdough skillet (our favorite recipe from farmhouseonboone.com)
• Chicken, carrots, and potatoes on a sheet pan (or any meat with veggies on a sheet pan)
• Ground beef and sweet potato skillet
• One-pot meat and rice (beef and rice, sausage and rice, etc) (For any meat and rice, you cook the meat in the pot first, then throw in rice and liquid doubling the amount of rice, and cook the rice right in the meat)

That’s 6 simple meal category ideas that have many recipes in each category. Gather recipes, rotate your ideas, and you have quick, simple meal plan for your fall homeschool days! Get MORE of our meal planning tips here on 12 Simple Meal Planning Tips from a Homesteading, Homeschooling Mom of 7 for Stress-Free Meal Planning.

13. Facilitate pleasant conversations or structured games at the dinner table. 

Dinner table activities? Homeschool is over by then, so why are we talking about the dinner table? Well, I find that how our large family homeschool days go tends to also affect the time at dinner and vice versa. If we had a chaotic day, dinnertime is no different and everyone ends the day on edge or unhappy. And, that can seep into the next morning. If we have a peaceful dinnertime, and rest of the evening, then we are setting our family up to have another peaceful morning and day the next day. How we end the day as a large family is just as important as how we start the day. As Christ-followers, the goal is not to just have peace during selected times, but all of the time.

One thing I like to do is light candles in these darker months during dinner. All year round I like to have some dinner times with instrumental music in the background. These elements are just two simple ways to promote a peaceful dinnertime. Another way to keep things peaceful at dinnertime is to structure your conversation/activities. If I notice my kids are extra hyper (or not getting along at dinner), I have an arsenal of ideas ready to calm things down. Now, some of these ideas sound like winding up, but they aren’t. They quiet everyone and promote focus and attention. And, some days that it just what we need to keep things peaceful.

Some ideas in my arsenal:

• Tell clean jokes (I have some pages bookmarked in my internet browser on my phone)
• Tell riddles that require the kids to think (again, bookmarked)
• Pass around poems to read (boooookmaaaark)
• Have everyone share something about their day that: inspired them, encouraged them, was challenging, etc
• Have everyone say a name of someone who blessed them or helped them, and someone that they blessed or helped
• Have everyone say their most difficult part of their day followed by the best part of their day
• Play what we call the “Alphabet Game”. Not original, I know. But, basically, we pick a category and go around saying a word that fits the category. Sometimes we will do as many as we can think of with “A”, then as many with “B”. Other times we keep it shorter by each person thinking of one thing in one letter. First person “A”, next person “B”, and so on. (Ex. Category: Food. “A” is for Apple, “B” is for bread. Of course we get much more creative, but that’s the gist.)

There are many more ideas, but as always, we like to just get you started and inspire you to be creative! If you find that some of these ideas wind up your kids too much, find what work best for your family to keep everyone relaxed.

14. Clean up the dining room and kitchen right after dinner. Or, your homeschool space right after homeschool.

This is another tip focused on keeping the evening peaceful to help promote peace the next day. And, this will depend on your home and set up. We mostly homeschool right on our dining room table. It’s just the space we have right now, and that’s actually what we’ve been used to for a decade of homeschooling. So, I find that it is super helpful for a peaceful homeschool morning the next day to make sure that we clean up the dining room as soon as dinner is over.

Everyone takes their plates to the sink or dishwasher, their reusable napkins to the laundry, etc. A younger child sprays and wipes the table and benches. An older child sweeps. While the children mind the dining room, I clean up the kitchen and put any leftovers away. Do we follow this perfectly every night? No. There are times where not much of a mess is made or time is running late. But, I find that when we clean up the dining room and kitchen right after dinner, it is ready and set up for homeschool the next morning creating a peaceful transition from breakfast at the island right to homeschool in the dining room. Depending on your set up, you may have to adjust the tasks and routine to fit your family.

15. Create cozy bedtime routines and early bedtime.

This last tip is another one for setting up a good, peaceful homeschool morning. Having a cozy night and an early bedtime will help everyone get the rest they need to have a peaceful large family homeschool day. We all know what it’s like when kiddos just don’t get enough sleep. (Mamas, too!) Create a cozy bedtime routine with some or all of these ideas:

Cozy bath time:

Many families routinely complete baths and showers after dinner or before bedtime. Again, do what works best for your family. But, this is one way we encourage everyone to relax and calm down for the night; no matter the age. However, we have so many people in our family and only two bathrooms, so we have to take turns. 

Sometimes, we like to promote extra coziness by adding baking soda, use a bath bomb, or espom salts. All of these added to bath water can promote relaxation, and epsom salts help add much needed minerals like magnesium, to enter the body for a restful sleep. We can’t use bath bombs and salts every time for everyone, so baking soda is helpful. Also, every once in a while we like to make bath time even more special by adding a fake candle light, a diffuser, relaxing music on a portable speaker, or a combination of these ideas. (I use real candles.) The last few ideas can be used for showers, and so can shower steamers.

Read a bed time story or scripture as a family and pray:

This may already be a part of your family’s daily routine. But, if it’s not, this is another great habit to get into. It can be really relaxing and calming to cozy together on the couch with a story or scripture. To be honest, sometimes we watch a short show (usually inspiring or a devotional) before bedtime prayers depending on how busy we are bathing one kid to the next. This is especially if we are running low on time and it’s getting later than we want.

However, a story or scripture and prayer time together is not only calming, but encourages our relationships. I am not a natural snuggler, so reminding myself to snuggle the kids during this time is special. Snuggling has so many benefits for the brain and bonding. And, ending the day with prayer is not only a healthy spiritual discipline, but also promotes bonding. This is one habit I plan on practicing much more to help us have more peaceful days.

Go to bed early:

It might feel more natural to go to bed earlier as the sun sets earlier and the time changes. However, if it isn’t natural, it is still beneficial to try to train your body to go to bed early in the Fall and Winter months (it’s December right now). The key is to flow with the seasons, not fight them. Getting the kids to bed early in any season will not guarantee that they have enough rest in the morning. It does not mean every morning will be met with naturally peaceful children.

However, having them go to bed early is a way to promote and encourage better rest and more peaceful children the next morning. And don’t forget about yourself! After the kids go to bed, create your own nourishing bedtime routine to help you get to bed earlier! Remember, “early to bed, early to rise” and have a productive, more peaceful large family. homeschool day.

Conclusion

Allowing our bodies to sync with the season, being energetic and productive during the hours of daylight and calming and relaxing with the setting of the sun, can be so nourishing for our bodies and our minds. These things all help promote peaceful homeschool days in our large families. So, try to set your expectations for each day to the hours that you do have in a day. If your expectations and goals are realistic, then you have a better chance of ending your day with accomplishment, peace, and joy, even if you didn’t do everything. Peace is better than every box checked.

And, remember, there is no deadline. So, adjust your routine as you need to, try the tips that seem helpful, and help promote peace for you and your family. Take one of these tips or all. Find a rhythm for your days that supports and nourishes you and your homeschooling family to feel more peace. What would you add to this list of tips for large homeschool families? Which tips do you like best? Let us know in the comments! And please share!

As always, we just want to equip modern families to live abundantly in their homesteads and homeschools. So, we try to provide simple solutions (like this routine) and simple resources (like our free printables and links to other resources) to help you on your adventure. 

Live abundantly, Friend,

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